The “Multi-Normative” Biological Weapons Convention: A Study of the 2022 Article V Meeting in Geneva

In September 2022, States parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) held a Formal Consultative Meeting in Geneva pursuant to Article V of the Convention, following Russia’s allegations that the United States and Ukraine had developed biological weapons in violation of BWC prohibitions. Although largely overlooked in public discourse, the Geneva meeting provides a revealing example of the BWC in practice. This article examines the Geneva meeting to assess the Convention’s normative role in contemporary international relations. It argues that States parties reaffirmed their commitment to the BWC’s core prohibition against the hostile use of biological agents against humans.

Moreover, the article introduces the idea of “multi-normative” commitment: the notion that this prohibition is embedded across overlapping normative domains, including international law (both hard and soft), ethics, and geopolitics. Ultimately, the article contends that the Geneva meeting underscores the continued relevance of the BWC as both a legal and political instrument in global security governance.